


I Cross The Line

by stickylips14



Series: The Line [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, a better insight into Adrien's thoughts on all of this, adrienette - Freeform, i promise it's not as sad as I Walk The Line, is that what that ship is called?????, it's also not mandatory reading tbh, just some Chat Noir mischief, lil kisses, partial reveal fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-07 15:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5460641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stickylips14/pseuds/stickylips14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The wreckage has been cleared away, Paris is returning to her normal self. Now Marinette has time to take on Chat Noir's challenge:</p><p>Find me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm baaaack! And I'm weak. It's been four days and I've already written one chapter and more or less plotted out the rest.  
> At any rate, this sequel is not mandatory reading whatsoever! If you loved the ending of I Walk The Line, then let it rest there! I wrote this because I got some requests for a sequel and also because work is boring sometimes and I think of cute interactions between a certain girl and her cat boyfriend. If you read, I hope you enjoy it, feel free to leave speculations for the following chapters in the comments! (I read that stuff, and consider it > : ) )

“You know, I've been wondering about something lately,” Chat said rather casually as he and Ladybug ran down a busy street in Paris, searching for an albeit ridiculous akuma, but an akuma nonetheless. Ladybug didn't even slow her pace, she just threw her partner a perturbed look and replied;

“Does right now _really_ seem like the right time for this, Chat Noir?” her partner didn't miss a beat, guiding them down an alleyway as he continued with his line of inquiry.

“I just want to know, what ever happened about that Adrien guy?” Ladybug came to a halt at the end of the alleyway as Chat set the butt of his baton firmly in the ground. She stepped in towards him, arms around his neck and quoted back to him what he had said but her crush four weeks ago;

“He's _alright_ , but he's no hero.”

The akuma was an easy fight, and at the end, Ladybug threw her lucky charm up into the air and watched as the city was cleansed, everything righted right before her eyes. She had gained a new appreciation for this ability in the recent weeks.

The warning sound of her Miraculous didn't cause any panic as she turned to face her partner. They fist-bumped as they always did, and then Chat Noir’s arm slipped around her waist and she let herself be pulled in close, hip-to-hip. He nuzzled into her neck with a purr and Ladybug laughed, pushing at him playfully until she had an opening to kiss him. Her Miraculous sounded again. Chat’s did not, he'd only used brute force in this fight, not cataclysm so his powers weren't tapped out, not even close. “So, hero trumps model?” He purred against her smiling mouth, feeling the warmth of light against him as her transformation was released. When Chat Noir opened his eyes again it was Marinette in his arms, wearing the same shorts and t-shirt she had worn to school that day. With a caress he smoothed back her hair, glancing at the remnants of the cut on her forehead. Just a little scar in the making now.

“I'll show you mine, if you show me yours.”

“Princess, that only works when I _don't_ already know your secret.” her pout was almost as cute as her smile. She yielded when he picked her up and walked to the edge of the roof, using his baton to get them down to the alley the same way he used it to get them up to the roof. Marinette kept her hold on him, standing on the tips of her toes.

“Chat Noir, just show me already!” She was reduced to begging, holding his arm as he wriggled out of her grip with a smirk, stopping only long enough to kiss her forehead.

“I'm sorry, princess, but I can't bend the rules!”

“They’re _your_ rules!” She didn’t really stand a chance at keeping him on the ground, and certainly not when he was using his baton to lift himself up above her. She held on for as long as she could, until all she had in her hands was his foot which she let go of with reluctance. Marinette wasn’t quite ready to reduce herself to jumping after him. “ _Chat Noir_! Get back here right now!”

*********

Four weeks had past since she had revealed her identity to Chat Noir, and things were good. There had been a handful of akuma attacks and none of them had ended badly. At the end of each fight, the akuma was cleansed and the victim scampered away with no recollection of what they had done. No deaths. No guilt. A lot of kisses. But Chat Noir’s secret identity was still exactly that; a secret. Everytime she saw him Marinette asked to know, but he refused to tell her. He wanted her to figure it out for herself, only _she_ wanted him to tell. Neither of them were covering any ground, and the few times when her impatience had caused Marinette into tricking the truth out of him, it had failed.  
She had thought that maybe their Miraculous wore off when they slept, since she had never fallen asleep as Ladybug before; who knows? So when Chat Noir appeared at her window one night she let him in, and after their usual talking she pretended to fall asleep on him, holding him in a grip tight enough that if he tried to leave, she would know. She woke up the next morning with Chat Noir cradling her to his chest. Peaceful in sleep, but still in a mask.  
She didn’t have the heart to hold him down after a battle and force him to reveal himself to her, either. That was just cruel.

So it had become a game. They chased and tricked each other, and Chat Noir had stolen a hundred kisses telling Marinette that he would give up the ghost in exchange for one. He never did. She refused to tell him her guesses in retaliation.

  *********

The house was quiet when Marinette got home; the bakery shut down for the day, her parents were asleep and only the hall light was left on so that she could safely make it up to her room. She turned on her desk lamp and flopped down into her computer chair, happy to sit in the gloom and relax, lolling her head back to stare at the ceiling.

The last four weeks had been surprisingly non-conflicted, Marinette had waited for the crisis of emotion to rear it’s ugly head all this time and it hadn’t yet, and she was beginning to think it never would. She liked Chat Noir, a lot, and it was an easy thing to admit to herself even if it was something she never saw coming. She liked Chat Noir, and in the process of falling for him, she had dismantled the pedestal she had built for Adrien Agreste-- her feelings for him weren’t a write-off, they were just something more reasonable than what she could now reflect on as an obsession. He was the bright flame that sometimes caught the corner of her eye, warm and beautiful, but not for touching. Alya had found her change of heart incomprehensible and had been demanding the name of the new boy every chance she got. Marinette had learned to be evasive in this respect.

Her fear that Chat Noir would eventually be disenchanted and disappointed proved to be coming up dry as well. In fact aspects of her life seemed to be downright unusual to him, like the attentiveness of her parents and the times when she had to leave him so that she could join her family for dinner, the fact that she did chores also seemed to mind-boggle him. It made him curious. With her permission, he had rifled through her stack of sketchbooks full of designs, occasionally putting ideas forward that were good- except for when they were “ _if you wear this, you should make it shorter and more fitted_ ” which had never, and would never work. He liked to help her with her homework, although he usually turned out to be a distraction more than anything else. More than once, Marinette had gone up to her balcony to water her flowers and Chat Noir had simply… been there, perched on the railing in a languid sort of way that suggested that he had no intention of moving. She had realized that he had just been sitting there for who knows how long, happily near to her. Then he asked Marinette to name every flower in her garden. He remembered every single one and proudly proved himself the next time he visited. She could admit that it was endearing.

But it had been four weeks and it was time Marinette got serious about this. She would know who was behind Chat Noir’s mask before the end of the week. She climbed into her bed with that determination on her mind and it would start by refusing to move out of her bed if her kitty cat decided to come around for a goodnight kiss. If he tapped on the skylight above her bed she would not open it.

 

Apparently, after 10pm was the cut off point for her resolve. She was half asleep, snuggled up to her chin in her blankets when the familiar tapping sounded, wrapping on the glass in an upbeat rhythm. Marinette sat up and crawled down to the foot of her bed to peer up through the glass, and there was Chat, grinning down at her. She pursed her lips and he grinned all the more as she reached up to release the latch and push the skylight up enough that Chat Noir could open it all the way, before swinging down head first, his hands gripping the lip of the hatch. He was wanting a kiss and instead he was met by the pads of Marinette’s fingers, stopping him in his tracks.

“Not so fast.”

“Is something wrong, princess?” He spoke against her lips, his eyebrows raised in question.

“I've made a decision.” She said with a firm nod. “By the end of this week, you're going to tell me who you are.”

“Why, I'm Chat Noir.”

“You _know_ what I mean, kitty cat.” Marinette shot back, moving her hand away so he couldn't even kiss her fingertips. “By the end of the week I'll know who you are, before then, you're banned from entering my room.” Chat laughed, his shoulders hunching with his mirth that he only tried to contain once he caught her expression.

Even as he spoke, Chat Noir was still biting back a giggle, nodding slightly. “I know, princess, I know you mean it. But here's my wager to throw into the mix: I won't tell you who I am within this week, and if the last four weeks are anything to go by, you won't guess correctly. But I will be allowed back into your bedroom by the end of the week.” Marinette scowled up at him although with no real heat in her expression, just playful disbelief. “Now, may I have my kiss goodnight?”

“No.”

“No?” Marinette nodded, her arms crossed over her chest. Chat rubbed at his chin as if in thought, and then folding his arms on the lip of the skylight, he peered down at her. Marinette sucked in a deep breath, holding most of it in her cheeks as she prepared herself for whatever it was he was going to try and use to change her mind. “My lady, have I ever told you how _beautiful_ you look in your pyjamas? You could rival Aphrodite. Your countenance should be hung in the Louvre, people would crowd around it more than the Mona Lisa herself!” He knew what he was doing, and she squirmed at the heavily laid compliment. It was common knowledge to them both that she was shy and struggled in the face of compliments. She could only act tough around Chat for so long before he managed to wriggle his way under her skin, to the more sensitive spots. “And your eyes are as shimmering and bright as though someone had plucked the stars from the sky and graced you with the-!”

“Alright, alright, enough already!” Marinette folded, her cheeks hot from Chat Noir’s teasing. He looked entirely too happy with himself as he leaned down into her room, tilting his head just so as she sat herself up to close the distance. They had done this often enough now that they knew how to avoid the awkward bumping of noses and chins, and she laid one hand against his cheek before they drew away from each other again. “Goodnight, Chat Noir.”

“Sweet dreams, Marinette.” He pulled himself back up, about to close the skylight again as he added, “I meant what I said about your eyes.”

 

She did indeed have sweet dreams that night. Dreams about a dastardly cat reciting flower names and poetry under a night sky crowded with stars.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to break your non-girlfriend: a guide by Adrien Agreste

Adrien Agreste didn't like his bedroom. When he was by himself, which was always, and lying on his bed, the room seemed _massive_ to the excess. Everything sparse and minimalistic and lacking in color. All of the windows left him feeling exposed to the world, like living in a fishbowl, sucking up the last of his privacy.

It's funny, how before spending most nights in or around Marinette’s bedroom, his own room has never bothered him. There was just such a stark contrast. Her room was _alive_ with her, filled with all the little things that made Marinette who she was. Old sketchbooks, pencils ground down to nubs under her teeth from when she was focusing so hard on her homework or a design, photos of her with her friends and soft toys and souvenirs she had collected over the years. She had an extensive collection of erasers, most of them shaped like animals and other cute things, and some were indistinguishable from wear. Now and again he would catch her before she had tidied up for the day and her chaise lounge would be covered in discarded clothes or her towel from that morning would be thrown over a rung on the ladder leading to her bed. Adrien’s dirty laundry never got the chance to build up in his room, it was always whisked away by cleaner’s once his back was turned. He had never taken his own clothes to or from the laundry room. Marinette thought it was weird that he liked to watch her do chores (sometimes he even helped, kind of) but they were, in fact, a complete novelty to him.

But his favorite thing about Marinette’s room by far was the small photoframe she kept on the shelf above her bed, containing a photo of them together-- Ladybug and Chat Noir-- her arms around his neck and he had been the one holding her phone to take the photo. Their smiles were glowing and genuine and every time he saw the photo frame kept in that private space of hers, right above where she slept, he could have done a backflip for the joy he felt. Usually he settled for kissing her without warning or explanation.

And this was just how he felt about her room. Marinette herself wasn't so easy for him to pin thoughts and phrases to.

When he first realized that he loved Marinette, he felt completely calm. In fact that was what had alarmed him. Adrien couldn't deny that for a long time Marinette was just a girl in his periphery, sweet and shy and often incoherent around him, but just a girl. Things had started to change when he started to run into her more frequently as Chat Noir, and she found her tongue and it was sharp, but still. His heart had belonged to Ladybug and Ladybug alone. Until he realized that there was no ‘Ladybug alone’. Ladybug was only half a person the same way Chat Noir was only half of him. And Marinette and Ladybug were two sides of the same coin, a coin that Adrien could set spinning on a table top without it ever having to land on one side or the other.

Loving Ladybug was loving Marinette was loving Ladybug.

Which is why he was terrified of unmasking himself to her. What if she only wanted to love one half of him? It had been revealed nearly five weeks ago that Marinette had a crush on Adrien, gushing about him to him without even knowing it, but it was the same sort of crush people get on movie stars. Once the shine wears off, they're not always that impressive. They’re often disappointing. What if he revealed himself to her and, under closer inspection than magazine cut outs and two years of staring at the back of his head in class, she realized that Adrien was actually nothing that she wanted? Upon closer inspection he was nothing interesting or special at all and the other half of the boy that held her affections,the unmasked half, wasn't what she thought. Then everything would be ruined.

The thought gripped him with fear every night, an ice cold hand that took pleasure in slowly constricting around his heart and hollowing out his chest as he chased scenarios around his head, each one worse than the last until he finally managed to find peace in sleep.

But despite his fear, Adrien wanted Marinette to piece it together. Worse than his fear was his loneliness. He had always been lonely, standing on the outskirts of regular life, but when the person you loved the most was constantly in arms reach but at the same time, not at all-- the weight of it was crushing. He wanted Marinette to see him but he also didn't want to be seen at all. So he was keeping the chase more exciting than the catch for as long as he could, basking in Marinette’s singular attention while he had it, even if most of the time that attention was out of frustration and half-hearted annoyance.

“Plagg,” Adrian turned over on his bed to face his kwami, using a tone of voice that was reserved for the asking of massive favors. His grumpy companion narrowed his eyes in suspicion, waiting for the question to come. “What do you think she meant when she said I was _alright_?”

“Don't you have better things to think about?” His kwami asked in disdain, but eventually he seemed to soften, heaving as big a sigh as such a small body could. “What did you expect? She's had more interaction with you as Chat Noir in the past few weeks then she's ever had with you as Adrien, and you've shared a classroom for two years.” He took to the air then, crossing his tiny arms over his chest, ears flicked back. “Crush or no, you can see how Chat Noir is favorable.”

This did nothing to relieve Adrien. He turned over onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

He had shot himself in the foot in this situation. Without Marinette knowing that he and Chat Noir were one in the same, he had managed to coax her out of having any interest in himself, Adrien, by allowing her to fall for… also himself, Chat Noir. It only increased his fear that if he revealed himself, she would be disappointed.

He had to change things.

 

Adrien liked to think that as someone who attended countless big events and spoke to all sorts of important people, that he was, well, good at talking to people. He thought as Chat Noir he was pretty smooth as well.

The truth was that Adrien had absolutely no tact when he hadn't carefully rehearsed what he was going to say, or when he didn't have the bravado that came with being a hero of Paris. But none of this deterred him from going through with his “plan”.

His plan was simple. It was a school morning and he had arrived with time before the bell went off to start the day. He went straight to his classroom rather than standing outside of the building talking to Nino, who joked that he looked like he was planning world domination from the vibes he was sending off. Well, not world domination. Domination of Marinette’s heart, well--- no, that was an awful way to put it.

Marinette and Alya were at their desks, talking between each other as they always did, their frantic hand gestures seeming to be a language all of their own. Adrien stood at the door for a moment, sucking in a deep breath and begging himself to act natural. He was a model. He could walk across the room like a normal human being.

He did manage to do that, dropping his school bag beside his desk before he continued up to Marinette’s. He wasn't immediately noticed, so he did what was in hindsight, cringe-worthy. He cleared his throat, loudly, until both girls had turned their heads to look at him.

“Are you alright?” Alya asked, one eyebrow raised. Her confusion was mild compared to Marinette’s, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Good morning, Marinette.” Adrien said as smoothly as he could, smiling down at her. “How are you?”

She stared. He could practically see the loading icon twirling in her mind. He was starting to get twitchy, the more he waited the more his stomach clenched and the worse this idea seemed. He had broken Marinette.

“I-I'm fine! Good morning!” Her voice pitched higher and higher as she spoke, cheeks burning and her hands pressed down against her thighs. Bad idea. Adrien’s smile wobbled a little, and he nodded.

“That's good.” And then he took a seat before his legs started shaking.

He had never, ever known how incredibly difficult it was to talk to the girl you loved. Until now. Adrien was dizzy, too dizzy to even eavesdrop on the hushed conversation that was happening behind him.

When Nino came in to take his seat, he commented that Adrien looked like he'd just seen a ghost. He was pretty sure he had seen his own soul depart from his body, at least.

 

It got worse.

By the time school ended, Adrien had recovered from his morning attempt, he was ready to make another because he hadn't learned his lesson at all.

He waited by the door to their classroom, trying to be completely casual as he saw Alya come out and Marinette was right behind her. He stepped into her line of sight which nearly made the poor girl jump through the roof. “Adrien!”

“Uh-- hi, Marinette.” He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was wondering… do you want to go and get coffee?”

Once again, she seemed to stop functioning, her pretty blue eyes darting between him and Alya standing behind him. Her mouth hang open, the hand holding the strap of her bag white-knuckled.

“Girl, go. I'll call you later about our homework.” Alya said, waving a dismissive hand that Adrien caught in his periphery. Marinette’s eyes followed her retreating friend until they couldn't anymore and she was forced to look at Adrien once more. Her bewilderment stung him.

“There… there's a cafe a couple blocks from here. They do good lattes.”

 

They sat across from one another at the wrought iron table, the filigree pattern had left an impression in Marinette’s forearm and her fingertips were pink from resting against the warm china of her coffee cup for too long. She had ordered a mocha and used a spoon to eat all the foam off the top first. Adrien ordered a vanilla latte and had taken all of two sips so far. This was the first time in a long time he had struggled to find words for her, so he had been reduced to quietly watching her as she looked out across the street, her eyes darting from one person to the next. He never got to see her like this; he always saw her fighting, or in the confines of her room. The sunlight made her glow. And then Adrien realized what she was looking at. She was studying these people, but more specifically she was studying their clothes.

Of course.

“So, do you still design?”

“Yes, I do.” Marinette replied, absently, before she remembered who was sitting across from her and the tips of her ears turned red. “I-I mean, it's just a hobby! I'm not as good as your father of course, I mean I would like to be some day but I-I don't… know?” She finally took a breath and then tried to drown everything she just said in a mouthful of coffee.

“I think your work is amazing.” Adrien confessed and he watched in awe as something lit up inside of her. In an instant, she became recognizable to him again. She was the bright and passionate girl who could cover her entire bedroom floor in fashion sketches and talk about every single one with so much excitement in her words that it rubbed off onto him. She was reaching for her bag, pulling out a sketchbook with a pink cover and a handful of stickers decorating the front.

“... Would you like to see some…?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Second chapter came super quick because I'm super enthusiastic about this fic/writing again!! I don't know if the next chapter(s) will come this quickly, but anyways. Adrien is freakin' dork I swear to god he ain't slick.  
> Please enjoy! Kudos, comment, let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette can't deal with more than one boy's attention at a time. That's how things get messy.

An afternoon spent with Adrien was nothing Marinette could have ever predicted. Five weeks ago it would have made her the happiest girl on the planet; Adrien Agreste, the model, her dream boy, her two-year crush, asking her out for coffee and spending the entire time looking at her designs with awe. She would have given her left hand for the opportunity. Five weeks ago.

Her hands were still shaking when she took her phone out of her schoolbag, sitting heavily down on her chaise as she scrolled through her contacts for Alya’s number. Her friend’s voice was loud in her ear, she winced.

“Oh _my_ God, girl! I’ve been waiting for you to call all afternoon! What happened? Was that a date? What happened? _Marinette_ , did he _kiss you_?”

“Alya.” Marinette interjected, taking a deep breath. “I genuinely, wholeheartedly, have absolutely no idea what just happened.”

“Okay but, _what happened_ , like actually? Did you go get coffee?” Her voice levelled out a little, her intuition picking up that her friend was at least a little bit frazzled. “Are you at home now?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m home now. Sorry I didn’t call right away, I couldn’t really… talk.” Marinette let out a sigh, pulling her legs up to lie down on her chaise, pulling her hair out of her pigtails to twist it around her fingers.

“Don’t worry about it, do you want me to come over?” She could all but hear her friend pacing around her bedroom.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll tell you what happened, then I think I might just crawl into bed.” Alya was probably nodding at her phone, so Marinette didn’t wait for affirmation. “So we did go and get coffee, at this really cute cafe a couple blocks from school. Maybe you know it, it’s right on the corner. It has a pink door?” Alya hummed in recognition. “Well yeah, there. And… Oh my Gosh, Alya, I didn’t know what to say! I was so nervous, and awkward, I just sat there for like ten minutes saying nothing! I was staring out at nothing. And then he asked me if I was still designing stuff and I couldn’t believe he even remembered, I think the last time he saw any of my stuff was last year. The design competition with the bowler hat.”

“Mhmm, I remember. Chloe tried to steal your design, which is _still_ hilarious, she doesn’t have an original bone in her body!”

“Alya.”

“Hey, I’m just looking out for you.”

“Anyway,” Marinette laughed, smiling up at her ceiling. “I um, showed him some of my designs since I had my sketchbook on me. Alya, he loved them! He moved right around the table to sit beside me so I could talk him through some of them, and then he even asked if he could get a copy of some of them later.”

“Do you think he wants to show them to his father?” The idea hadn’t actually occurred to Marinette. She was too caught up in, well, Adrien. Her stomach clenched and she kicked her legs up in excitement, slapping her hand over her mouth so that her squeal didn’t deafen her friend on the other end of the line. Once she remembered how to breathe, she replied.

“Do you think he would? I mean-- do you? That would be _huge_ if he did.”

“I don’t know, Marinette! But why else would he want them? And you know your designs are good enough, otherwise you wouldn’t have won last year! I reckon Adrien has finally opened his eyes and seen that you a-mazing. He’s gonna snatch you up.”

“Alya!”

“I’m just saying!” Marinette huffed into the phone, shaking her head. She loved Alya, but she did love to jump the gun a lot. “Okay, okay. I’ll let you go. You’re probably totally bugging out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Alya.” She held the phone to her ear until the line went flat, and then she dropped it and rolled over to press her face into cushions. She screamed and kicked her legs, but not out of anger or panic, she was _happy_. And then she fell still, lifting her head up abruptly.

Then the confusion came crashing down around her and her heart felt like it was ricocheting off of her ribs. What was she doing? What was her heart doing? She was on cloud nine right now because of Adrien. Adrien. Not Chat Noir.

In fact all afternoon, she hadn’t thought of Chat Noir, when she was supposed to be finding out who he was. She sat up slowly, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. She was over Adrien, he was a crush that had never led to anything-- for two years, nothing had happened. Chat Noir was the one who came to see her almost every night, he was the one who stayed with her when she was in pain and rattled. He was her first kiss.

So why did the thought of Adrien intending for this afternoon to be a date make her feel like she was glowing? Her heart had already squared up her feelings for her boy and her cat. It couldn’t go around reshuffling things now. It wasn’t fair!

She brought both hands up to her face, dragging them down past her eyes to splay her fingers over her cheeks, pinkie fingers pressed to her lips. It wasn’t fair. On her or on Chat Noir or Adrien. She thought her feelings were more solidified than this. She thought she had two things that she knew for certain in life: she was a hero of Paris, and she liked Chat Noir and not Adrien. The ground was now rolling underneath her, throwing her back and forth.

Marinette didn’t know what to do with herself so, she brushed her hair, set her homework on her desk and went to have dinner with her parents. She told them about her day, bright and bubbly, and skipped out the part about coffee with Adrien and instead fabricated an afternoon spent with Alya which was entirely believable. She took her dessert up to her room with her and set it down beside her homework. There was enough light outside that she could climb out onto her balcony to water her flowers without turning on her fairy lights, so she pulled on a loose sweater and climbed out through the skylight.

The sky was blazing orange as the sun sunk down, and she stood staring at it as she watered a pot of pansies probably more than they needed, her hand squeezing the trigger of her spray bottle without her having to think much about it. Her mind was pleasantly vacant of thought, but she wasn’t happy.

And then a bell chimed behind her, and her heart constricted. She took in a deep breath before turning around to face… A cat. Not her cat. Just a normal, tabby cat. She rose her eyebrows, setting the spray bottle down as she crouched in front of it.

“Hello, how did you get all the way up here, kitty cat?” She crossed one arm over her knees, slowly extending her other hand out to the small cat who sat among pots of candytuft and snapdragons. It bowed its head far enough to sniff her, before cherubing and wandering a little closer. Marinette turned her hand over and the cat rubbed its head against her palm, purring happily especially when she scratched under its chin. She ran her hand along its collar, and found a tag that named the cat ‘Toby’. “You’re a lovely little thing, aren’t you? Pretty boy.” She giggled, and the cat lay down and rolled onto it’s back.

“Princess, you should be careful, or you’ll make a boy jealous.”

This time, her heart constricted tight and then let loose again, once again bouncing off her ribs like a rubber ball. Carefully, she scooped up the cat, who was far too friendly to be let out of his owner’s sights, and turned to face Chat Noir who stood on the railing of her balcony, one hand braced against the wall. “I thought I said you weren’t allowed here until you told me who you were?”

He smirked, jumping down on the balcony which was too small for her not to be in arm’s reach. He stroked the cat’s head, rubbing behind his ears. “You said I wasn’t allowed inside you room, you never said anything about your balcony.” Marinette couldn’t argue that. It was a loophole she had left in before her heart went into turmoil, which happened in less than twenty-four hours since she gave the order. “So, how was your day, princess? Any luck in your search?”

“I would probably have a lot of luck in it, if I was actually searching.” Marinette replied, handing the cat off to Chat Noir regardless of any protests so that she could pick up her spray bottle again and finish watering her garden. It was a bit of a lie. She couldn’t possibly _not_ at least try and find Chat Noir, but she did it in a slow process, writing off people from the huge pool of possibilities one by one. Her class had already been pushed to the ‘impossible’ side of the line. She would have noticed, and Chat Noir didn’t have that good a poker face. So no one in her class, but that still left everyone other guy in school as a suspect.

“Princess, you’re never going to know at this rate!”

“I will,” She said with certainty, facing away from him and getting very invested in her collection of succulents that didn’t really need much attention at all, “You are going to tell me, sooner or later. You’re not very patient after all, kitty cat.” She heard him set the cat down, the mixed jiggling of both of their bells and then Chat sidled up beside her, resting his hip against the railing and gently touching the curls in the tips of her hair.

“I waited for you, didn’t I, my lady?” He asked softly, his fingers moving from her hair to caress her cheek.

“You didn’t know I was Ladybug at first, Chat Noir. I don’t consider it waiting.” Marinette was on the defence, and she really didn’t want to be. It’s not like anything had happened-- she had gone out to have coffee with a classmate. There was nothing wrong with that, Chat Noir wasn’t going to blame her for having a social life and she didn’t have to distance herself from an injury that was never going to come. She sighed softly, putting down the spray bottle before turning to face Chat, and burying her face into his chest, hers hands coming to rest on his ribs. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back and burying his fingers in her hair. “I’m okay.”

He smoothed her hair back, trying in vain to see her face. “I find that hard to believe. Princess, what’s wrong?” The worry in his tone made her feel worse. She rubbed her forehead against the leather of his suit, wishing he wore something that she could curl her fists into.

“I-- Just… A weird day. Just a weird day. I missed you. I’m glad you came.” Chat’s hands touched her cheeks and gradually she looked up to him, her eyes soft and mouth slack. He leaned down, his arms dropping from her waist to wrap around her thighs and he lifted her up easily, holding her so that her hips pressed into his stomach and she was eye-level with him, where he got to drink up all of the surprise on her face before it flittered away. Marinette put her hands in his hair and kissed him, selfishly, holding him still so that she could take all the time she wanted to kiss from one corner of his lips to the other, stroking hers over the shape of his bottom lip and then kissing him slowly and softly, tipping her head to let him know it was okay for him to reciprocate. And he did, kissing her deeply, craning his neck to have her at his mercy as his tongue ran along the seam of her lips and she yielded, her lips parting, soft and pliable and he took every advantage he could, tasting and teasing her until she made that sweet little noise of hers, and then he kissed her some more until she had made it three more times and she had to pull away to breath. Marinette’s cheeks were flushed and her lips were ruddy, her eyes heavy lidded as she gazed down at Chat Noir, close enough that their breaths mingled. She whispered as she touched her forehead to his, finding a smile; “I really am okay.”

“You’re beautiful.” He sighed out against her cheek which he kissed before letting her feel the floor beneath her feet again. He turned to lean back on the railing, his arms crossed loosely over his chest. “Are you really not going to let me into your room tonight?”

Ruthlessly, Marinette sprayed him with water, her expression deadpan as he wiped at his face and shook his hair out and generally acted like a big baby around a little water. “I’m really not. Not even a kiss like that will change my mind, kitty.” But she smiled at him, and once all her plants were watered she was happy to lean against him, her hands on the railing on either side of him. “Did you have a good day?”

“I had a great day.” Chat Noir grinned as he ran the back of his fingers along the inside of her arm, watching the goosebumps raise. “Especially because I got to see you, Marinette. I like seeing you like this.”

“Like this?”

“Like…” Chat tipped his head in thought, his eyes following the arch of stars that were starting to appear above them in the early stages of night. “Like you. Marinette, in this cute sweater, with your hair down, watering your flowers, playing with a cat. When I see you like this it makes me happy, because I can see myself being with you like this, without the mask.” She dropped her gaze from the scant space between them, worrying her lip. _Oh, Chat_. Marinette lifted herself up onto the tips of her toes, her eyelids still low when she kissed him.

“I…” She shook her head minutely, falling back down on flat feet. “I have homework to do, kitty. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay, princess.” Chat smiled, moving her aside so that he could pick up the cat that had sat quietly near the wall, grooming itself. “I’ll take this little guy home, I don’t think he knows how to get down from here.”

“You know that cat?” Marinette frowned, and further still when Chat laughed, rubbing the cat’s head. He jumped up onto the railing, blowing her a kiss.

“No, I just speak cat.” And he leapt. Marinette leaned over the railing after him, calling out.

“You do not, you dork!”

 

The high of Chat’s visit lasted until Marinette climbed into bed and she found herself lying in the dark, wide awake. And then once again reality came knocking and her wires were crossed as she thought about the two boys that had gone out of their way to see her today. She pressed her lips into a tense line as she faced the fact that she couldn’t talk to Chat about her afternoon with Adrien. Why? Because it felt like she had done something behind his back. Just a small thing-- and it hadn’t even been her idea. But she couldn’t bring it up to him. And wasn’t that telling her something? Her stomach felt like it was tied up in knots.

If it was telling her something, she wasn’t sure what it was. She rolled onto her side, staring at the wall.

Maybe it was all just an overreaction, anyway. It was one coffee. One afternoon talking to Adrien about fashion designs. She was blowing this out of proportion; there was still three more school days this week and she was betting Adrien wouldn’t show any extra interest in her again.

Her life wasn’t going to spin out of control again when it had only just started to feel normal again. Marinette had gone five weeks without questioning herself over Chat Noir and she couldn’t let an anomaly change any of that.

The next morning Marinette got up as always. She showered quickly, had breakfast with her mother, brushed her teeth. She put on her favorite sun dress, covered in a pink rose print, and her favorite lipgloss and absolutely promised herself that today was going to be an easy, good day. She felt cute, her homework was done and by the end of the today, the weekend was only two days away.

Everything was going to be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't sleep. I just write. I started this chapter before I even finished the second?? This fic is just demanding to be written.
> 
> Chat got to the street below and didn't know what to do with the cat so he just ran across the street, dumped it on a doorstep and bolted, because no, he doesn't talk to cats. he's just tryna look cool.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this installment! Once again, kudos, comment, let me know what you think! I love hearing from you guys, you brighten up my days :*


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You push and you pull,_   
>  _and you tell yourself_   
>  _no_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a lil bit of making out in this chapter
> 
> edit: I went through and fixed most if not all of the typos. Sorry for not spell checking better!

Adrien didn't know what to do on Wednesday morning. Marinette had come to school looking like an actual princess, in a chiffon sun dress that brushed against her bare thighs with every step, the bodice fitted enough that it followed the perfect curve of her tiny waist. Even her hair was down, only small sections pulled back from her face, caught in a pink ribbon. He had never seen her look like that. At home, she wore loose dresses that hid her figure, and sweaters that swamped her over pyjama shorts. As Ladybug, her figure was visible, but covered head to toe.

He stared, all day, every chance he could. If he could have gotten away with it he would have turned around in his seat just to watch her write notes. He had it bad, but every time he thought of something he wanted to say to her, the words turned to cotton wool in his mouth and refused to come out. More than once he had approached, just to awkwardly smile at her and then leave again.

It was lunchtime when Nino finally said something to him, waving a hand in front of his dazed eyes. Adrien was abruptly pulled back to reality, turning to face his friend.

“Whoa, man. You've been on another planet all day. What's going on?” When all Adrien managed to reply with was a low ‘uh’, Nino quickly came to his own conclusion, wriggling his eyebrows in a way that was more comical than suggestive. “It's a _girl_. Who's the lucky lady, Adrien? Is it Chloe?”

“--what? No, I've already told you I'm not interested in her.” Nino shrugged, as though he didn't understand. “It's… it's Marinette.”

“Marinette.” Adrien nodded, running a hand through his hair.

“I mean, have you seen her today? She looks… beautiful.”

“Marinette. You're telling me that after two years of her crushing on you,” Adrien had the good graces to look shocked by this. He was not. “you've _finally_ noticed her because she's wearing a dress. Well, I dunno what to tell you, man. Alya told me that she has a mystery man. That ship has sailed.” Adrien tried not to grin at the news; he hadn't known Marinette had been talking to Alya about him-- well, Chat Noir-- although, they were best friends. He probably should have guessed by now.

“Really?” He tried to sound crestfallen. “That's a shame.”

He had never been more excited for a patrol night in his life.

 

When Chat Noir saw Ladybug that night, he hugged her so tight and with so much enthusiasm he lifted her right off the ground, and then twirled for good measure. When he set her on the ground again, he kissed her, barely suppressing his impish grin. Ladybug looked like her head was spinning, staring wide-eyed at her partner.

“I'm happy to see you too?”

“You looked so beautiful today, my lady.” Chat grinned, squeezing her hands gently in his. “I couldn't help myself. I wanted to do that all day.”

“What? You saw me? When!”

“Like I keep telling you, I'm closer than you think, my lady luck.” He giggled, tapping the top of her nose. “Now come on, let's find out what Paris has for us tonight. I could take on six akumas right now!”

Chat Noir led the patrol all night with a bounce in his step while Ladybug fell back, watching him with a warm, fond gaze. Her heart felt lighter than it had the night before; Adrien hadn't spoken to her all day, and she could handle his staring. She could tell herself that it was nothing to get tied up about. The boy who held her heart was right in front of her, grinning as he ran across rooftop ridges.

“Chat Noir!” She called and he stopped in his tracks, spinning to face her without even a waver in his grin. She landed on the same roof as him, walking slowly along the ridge, her smile small but suggestive. Chat cocked his head to one side, for once patient enough to let her come to him. She stopped when they were chest to chest, blinking up at him as she slowly walked her fingers up the front of his suit, flicking the bell at his throat. He was watching her closely, silent and attentive, lifting his chin when her fingers guided him to, and when they guided him to turn his head left to right. She brushed the back of her fingers along his jawline as she lifted herself onto the tips of her toes, chin held high and lips parted. Chat understood, but again let her fingertip, pressed under his chin, to move his head down to meet her. It was only a tease of a kiss, the same sensation as a feather running over your skin and she felt Chat’s jaw clench under her hand, his restraint starting to fray. So she dropped her hand, releasing her hold, and Chat Noir immediately let himself snap. He lifted her by the waist and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He was shameless in the way he touched her, his hands running down the curve of her ass, squeezing gently which made her giggle into his mouth and his hands stayed there to support her. Chat Noir ravished her until she was breathless, and then some more. He bit and kissed and licked her lips, kissing at her jaw until her head tilted back and as much of her neck was exposed as possible. He found that perfectly sensitive spot beneath her ear and Ladybug moaned with her hands fisted into his hair. Chat only slowed down when he felt her chest heaving against his and her lips were bruised from his kisses. Her head pulled forward until their foreheads were pressed together, her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath. She planted the softest of kisses, little signatures on the cupid’s bow of his top lip. Slowly her legs were released but she held onto him anyway, not trusting them just yet.

“Chat Noir,” she breathed, resting her cheek to his chest. “I'm so glad you're mine.”

“I have been since the first day I saw you, my lady.”

 

*********

 

On Thursday afternoon, Adrien was reminded that he was still living on planet earth and had to do more than think about Marinette all day. He found himself sitting in the school library after the last lesson of the day, staring at a stack of history books with no idea how to start. They had a research assignment and a week before presenting it. The hardest part was the fact that they could research the history _of anything_. He stared at the spines of the books he had grabbed at random, his arms crossed on the smooth wooden table, his head resting against his arms. He was daydreaming within a minute.

Adrien snapped back into focus at the sound of a stack of books being dropped on the table and the faint scrape of a chair being pulled in. Slowly, he lifted a hand to push his stack of books just far enough to the left that he could peek around them to see who was in the same lame position as himself.

He was met by a stack of books, the spine facing his way read in block letters “Jean Paul Gaultier”. He sat up then and found himself looking across at Marinette, tapping a pencil against her lip and twirling a few loose strands of hair around her fingers as she read from a large book. He leaned forward enough to read “Vivienne Westwood” as the title of the page.

“Have you already picked a topic?” Marinette just about jumped through the roof, her pencil falling to the floor and he suspected she pulled on the hair wrapped around her finger. They stared at each other, Adrien smiling apologetically. “Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. What are you reading?”

“It's-- oh, uh, it's a book on fashion designers. I wanted to do the project on the history of fashion, but it's a really broad topic. I was thinking of just picking a decade or two, or maybe just one designer.” He liked that she always spoke confidently about what she loved. Even with him, her stammering minimized. They could have this conversation, and Adrien felt like it was a springboard into Marinette relaxing into his company. Which he wanted desperately.

“One designer sounds like a good idea. Have you narrowed it down at all?” Adrien asked, pushing his books aside so that there was nothing between them.

“I think I have three… no, four actually. Coco Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen or Jean Paul Gaultier. But the school library doesn't have a lot of good books on them.”

“Yeah,” Adrien sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I'm not having any luck, either.”

“What are you researching?” Marinette asked as she lifted the cover of the book on the top of his stack, tilting her head to read the title, _world history_. She could read the spine of the next book, frowning shallowly. The second book was about Egypt and the next spine she could read was a history of theatre. “Egyptian… theatre?”

“Ah,” Adrien laughed, shaking his head. “Honestly I have no idea what to research. I just grabbed a heap of books from the history section. I haven't even cracked them yet. History isn't my strong point.” Marinette nodding minutely, biting her bottom lip as she thought. Adrien stared at the way color bloomed under the pressure of her teeth applied to what he knew to be the softest lips he had ever had the pleasure of kissing.  He didn't have fast enough reflexes when it came to her not to get caught and a flare of color the same as her lips shaded her cheeks. Marinette didn't meet his eye as she spoke.

“I-- I know it's following pretty close to what I'm researching, but you're a model, right…? Charles Worth was the first designer to ever hold a runway show, and there's footage of Chanel's shows from when she was still alive. It's a pretty modern thing, I think Charles Worth only started them at the end of the nineteenth century, so it's not a broad topic.” Marinette shrugged a little, picking at the dust cover of her book. “Or maybe something else. Maybe you don't want to study your job.”

She seemed to shrink into herself the longer Adrien stayed quiet, her cheeks flushing further. “What about cameras?”

“C-cameras?”

“Yeah, like the history of photography. Cameras developed pretty quickly, didn't they?”

“Um, I don't know. But, in a week you might be able to tell me?” Marinette finally met his eye, smiling shyly.

“I doubt the schools have any good books about this kind of thing, though. I'll have to go to the public library.” It would have been a lie if he didn't admit to himself that he had already decided what he wanted to happen. “Hey, why don't we go together? You need better books as well, right? I'm… free on Saturday if you are.”

 

*********

 

Marinette had no idea how she had gotten herself into this position. All she was doing was reading in the library, taking a few notes, and then she was talking to Adrien, offering ideas to him and now she was going to be spending a large portion of Saturday with him, studying. But that was okay.

Everything was still fine. It was just studying which was entirely innocent. They were probably going to be barely speaking, anyway. But none of this stopped Marinette from pulling her hair out as she relayed everything to her concerned kwami while her cheek was pressed to her computer desk. Tikki was doing her best to soothe her, stroking her tiny hands over Marinette’s knuckles. “I don't even know why I'm so-- so-- I don't know! Oh, Tikki, what am I going to do? Why does Adrien make things so… complicated. I'm over him. I'm over him!”

“Marinette, it's okay to be a little conflicted! You had feelings for Adrien for a long time, just because you're spending time with him doesn't mean you're acting on them, in fact spending more time with him might help you get over him so that you can just be friends! I can tell you really care for Chat Noir, you have nothing to worry about!” Her kwami smiled at her, concerned and sweet and Marinette smiled back, before signing and closing her eyes.

If nothing else, she had to try and believe in what Tikki said. Her kwami saw a lot, and had been around for so long she had probably seen other girls go through this exact situation. When she opened her eyes again, she carefully cupped her hand underneath Tikki so that she could kiss her head. “Thank you… I'm sure you're right. You always are.”

“Everything is going to be just fine, Marinette. You're always true to your heart.” Marinette’s smile tensed slightly, her eyes downcast. _But what about when your heart isn’t true to you?_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is like the awkward adolescent stage of this fic;;; there was lots of small bits that needed to happen with a lot of time lapses in between. So it feels kind of broken up. At any rate, I hope it's still enjoyable. We're coming to the end of this little adventure, not much longer to go!  
> Kudos, comments, I appreciate your love and input!  
> xx


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's self restraint starts to crack.

Marinette was missing Chat Noir like crazy, and she had never been more grateful for her ridiculous little heart. She hadn’t seen him since their patrol on Wednesday night. On Friday, she moved her pillow to the foot of her bed and fell asleep looking up through her skylight in hopes he would show up for a goodnight kiss. She woke up on Saturday morning aching from his absence while also reveling in it. She wasn't thinking about Adrien; she hadn't missed his gaze on her throughout Friday. All he said to her all day was ‘see you tomorrow’ as he left the classroom and Marinette had managed a cool, calm wave back. She wanted to see Chat Noir, and Marinette was going to hold on to that all day. Studying with Adrien was going to be no problem. Her indecision was settled. Her heart belonged to her silly cat.

 

They had agreed to meet in the foyer of the public library at 10am. Adrien had come early, leaning against the wall near to the staircase that led into the main body of the building, watching the morning sun reflect off the polished marble floor. He saw Marinette before she saw him, her school bag slung over one shoulder and a basket rested in the crook of her elbow. She looked as cute as a button, dressed in washed out-denim overalls with the hem rolled up to just under her knees, with a pink shirt covered in love hearts underneath. Her canvas sneakers were the same shade of pink. Almost reluctantly, Adrien stopped staring and waved at her, smiling as she approached with the basket held just a little awkwardly in front of her in offering.

“Good morning- um, my mom insisted that I brought us lunch. She made sandwiches, and the rest is from our bakery.”

“Oh, wow, that's really nice of her.” Adrien grinned, lifting the cloth laid over the top to peek at what was packed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a lunch packed for him, by a parent no less. Usually he was just given money. What made this gesture even better was that everything in the basket looked  _ amazing _ . “... We should go to the park to eat, when we need a study break.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Marinette smiled, smoothing the cloth back down. For moment, they just stood smiling shyly in opposite directions. It was Marinette who moved first, catching the handle of the basket on the crook of her elbow again. She thought Adrien wouldn’t notice the deep breath she took, trying to prepare herself. “Well, we should go get started then.”

 

They chose a table towards the back of the library, where the sun filtered through the stain glass windows, throwing blocks of colors around them. Marinette tucked the basket under her seat, sitting across from Adrien and then they had to part to look up the books they needed for their respective topics. He was reluctant to be away from her for even that long. But he took his time searching for books anyway. He didn’t want to look… desperate. Not grabbing at random this time, he flicked through the glossy pages of a dozen books on photography and cameras before picking an armful of them to carry back to the table. Marinette wasn't back yet, so he opened up his laptop and got about as much work done as he would manage all day.

Adrien knew, even more so than before, that he had it bad for Marinette when he found himself looking over the top of his laptop to watch her  _ study _ . She was completely wrapped up in her book, one hand almost continuously scratching notes into her workbook while the other propped her head up in between turning pages. She frowned just a little when she was concentrating, and switched between worrying her lip with her teeth or sucking on it, which left them once again that glorious shade of red. When she read something interesting, he could see it in her expression. She was an open book, at least when she didn't know she was being watched.

Marinette caught him staring once, and his cover was to awkwardly splutter and ask for another word for ‘develop’. She suggested he googled it. He couldn't believe he was the one blushing viciously even five minutes after the exchange.

For the most part, the morning was quiet between them. Adrien had to admire her work ethic. For every page he filled she had filled three. The books she was using for references were all full of post-it notes to mark where she had gotten what information.

At half past one, Marinette dropped her pen and stretched, raising her arms up above her head and arching her back to get the kinks out of her spine. There was an ink smudge on the side of her right hand. Adrien noticed it when she was stacking the books she hadn't found anything useful in. “I think it's lunch time. Ready for a break?”

“Absolutely,” Adrien laughed, closing his laptop before rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands. “I'm starving.” Marinette stood up, collecting the books she didn't want in her arms.

“I'm just going to put these back.”

Adrien was smiling well after she had disappeared into the aisles. She seemed so comfortable in this environment, she hadn't stuttered once talking to him. He was beginning to hope that she was comfortable with  _ him.  _ He stood up, putting his laptop away and gathering their stack of books together, borrowing one of Marinette’s post-it's to leave a note on the books for them not to be moved, they would be coming back. Adrien was just picking up the basket under her seat when he noticed Marinette had left her notebook open. He grinned at the doodle in the bottom right corner. It was a little black cat, with a ladybug just about to land on the it's nose. There was a love heart above them both.

She was so cute. 

They went to the park for lunch as agreed, sitting under a tree where the sun didn't reach them. It was filled with people, parents watching their kids play and people on their lunch breaks from work too all of the benches. Marinette sat with her legs tucked up, picking the lettuce out of her sandwich before it fell out. Adrien watched her, chewing slowly. He swallowed, then looked around at the park slowly. The jungle gym Ladybug had sat on, wallowing in her guilt all those weeks ago had been replaced with a brand new one. The bench that had he had sat Marinette on that day was righted again, freshly oiled. “It looks like nothing ever happened here, right?”

“Yeah…” She replied, absently, her eyes settling on all the same places Adrien’s had, quietly reliving each experience. He bit the inside of his lip lightly.

“Is it true you were caught in the attack? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

“No, I was.” Marinette shook her head, then smiled at him. “I wasn't hurt seriously, just some bruises and a couple of little cuts. I had someone take care of me afterwards, so… it was fine. Scary at the time, but fine in the end.”

Adrien smiled back at her, taking another bite of his sandwich before pushing a little further.  “Who looked after you?”

Her smile said all he needed to know. She was looking down at her feet and nearly grinning, her cheeks washed in color. “Um,  just someone. Doesn't matter.”

Adrien indulged in watching her for just a little longer. “I'm glad you're okay, Marinette.”

 

The rest of the afternoon seemed to drag on. Marinette’s work ethic hadn’t depleted in the slightest and Adrien eventually stopped hoping for more reasons to talk to her and settled into his research as well, the only sound between them being the scratch of pen on paper and the tapping of laptop keys, along with the occasional turn of a page. But even if she was silent, Adrien was so glad to be in Marinette’s company without her struggling to maintain her composure, he was seeing her for who she was without having to wear a mask around her. Although, the kisses that came with the wearing of his mask were certainly missed. Marinette was affectionate and generous with her kisses, and he missed them. He’d been trying to keep away from her as Chat Noir, because he was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to keep the secret, Adrien had already almost blown it by gushing over how beautiful she had looked on Wednesday, unable to restrain himself. But Ladybug had kissed the life out of him as a result, so he hasn’t weighing on it too heavily. He just knew that next time he came to her in that mask, the game would be up. He would tell her, and he couldn’t predict anything from that point onwards. That was terrifying.

Adrien swung out of his train of thought when Marinette sighed loudly, and dropped her head down onto her notebook, rubbing her forehead against it.

“It’s getting late, I’m giving up.” Her words were muffled, but her tone was more than enough of an indicator. Adrien’s laptop was already shut and he was stacking the books he didn’t want to check out into a rather high pile. 

“I thought you’d never say it. I’m done, too. I guess we should call it a day?”

“Yeah, definitely. Um, I’ll help you put your books back, then we can go check out the ones we want? You look like you have a lot.” Marinette had narrowed her choices down to two. She only had one book to put away. Adrien had six books to put away and one he wanted to take out. The internet was a better way for him to work, he had decided.

“That would be great, thanks.” Marinette smiled at him before packing her things back into her school bag and putting the books she wanted to keep into the empty basket. She gathered up three of Adrien’s books and the one she didn’t want, waiting for him to lead the way.

It turned out that Marinette really liked books. She had put her single book away and had gotten swept up in all the rest on the shelves around it, pulling out one or two to check their covers, flicking through a few of the pages before sliding them back into place. Adrien leaned against the shelf at the end of the aisle, watching her, their bags at his feet. 

“Sorry-- I won’t be long I promise, I just didn’t get to look at everything else before! I was just finding things related to Gaultier.” 

Adrien wove a dismissive hand, smiling at her. “Take your time, I only have more homework to do at home.” He wandered the aisle himself, running his fingers along the spines of the books, enjoying the sound the dust covers made under his fingers. He heard the creak of the step ladder as Marinette reached for something from one of the top most shelves and then, rather abruptly, he heard her yelp and turned to see a pile of books falling down on her, her arms thrown up to protect her head. “Marinette!”

“I-I’m okay!” She held tightly to the handle of the step ladder as she climbed down and Adrien caught her upper arm, turning her to face him once both feet were on the ground. She held the book she had been reaching to get in her hand still. Both hands on her shoulders, he looked her over, for forming bruises or cuts. “It’s-- it’s fine, I promise. I was just clumsy-- There must have been books sitting on top of this one…”

That didn’t stop him. She froze under his hands when they cupped her cheeks lightly, and then he brushed her bangs back and found that small scar from five weeks ago. Adrien wasn’t looking for injuries anymore. Carefully, he ran his finger over the pale, tight skin stretched over the damage.   
“That’s old-- Don’t worry about it.” Marinette was still insisting, blushing. They were standing so close together, Adrien could feel her unsteady breaths. But more importantly, he could feel  _ her _ . There was no leather stopping him from feeling her skin against his and she was so, so soft and supple. His hands ran down her arms, feeling the firm suggestion of muscles under her skin. She was warm, and when his thumbs pressed gently into the underside of her wrists, it revealed that her heart was  _ pounding _ . When Adrien finally looked up again, his stare was met by bright blue eyes, pupils blown out and the light catching like little stars in the depths of them. She had a smattering of freckles across her nose he had never noticed before, and had applied something along her cheekbones that made them shimmer in the right light. Adrien didn’t feel like he had control of himself when his hands ran down to her hips, guiding her gently back against the shelf behind them, the contact of the wood against her back making Marinette gasp. He caught it with his lips, pressed gently to hers, tilting his head to deepen the kiss when her lips parted against his. Marinette still had the book in her hand, held between them like a barrier but she let it slide from her grip when Adrien took it, heard it fall to the floor without reaction. Slowly and timidly, her hands came to rest against his chest and Adrien felt her kiss back, melding into him slowly, cautiously. He rose his hands just as slowly, slipping them around to her lower back, beneath the fabric of her overalls, coaxing her to come closer to him. Somehow, kissing her without the mask felt different, too. Sweeter, even more intimate. Adrien thought his heart would give out if it got any better than this. Marinette, caught in his arms. Warm against him,  _ kissing him. Adrien. _

And then Marinette suddenly pulled back with a thump of her head against the shelf. She pushed his arms away so that she could stumble to the side, picking up the book Adrien had dropped and hugging it to her chest. She turned on her heel so that he was met by her back and he could only assume that the hand she raised was pressed over her mouth. Her shoulders hunched and she shook her head, frantically.

“I--I’m so sorry, that shouldn’t have--- I shouldn’t have-- I-I…” Both arms wrapped around the book and she had no choice but to turn towards him again, but her gaze was strictly set on the floor as she passed him, dropping the book into her basket before picking up her things. Her face was bright red and her ears were burning. “I-I’m sorry, Adrien. I’ll see you at school.”

“Marinette--!” He called after her in vain, she was already walking away at a fast clip, her hand once again pressed to her mouth. Adrien sighed in defeat, in dismay, leaning back against the shelf with his head tipped back, slowly slumping down to the floor. He rubbed his hands over his face and then through his hair, sighing again. “Adrien, you idiot… You absolute  _ idiot _ .”

She had pulled away. She didn’t want it. He had upset her, and his insides felt like they were ice because of it.

That was it. That was all he needed to know. He had to give up the game now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was like pulling teeth to write?? Mostly because I was torn between making this the last chapter and it just being super super long. But I decided to split it in half. So there's one more chapter after this one, and then it's time to say goodnight!  
> Adrien's probably gonna do something stupid. These kids are stupid.  
> I hope you enjoy this installment! Kudos, comment, I adore hearing from you guys!  
> :*


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _There was no light and I swear,_   
>  _I could see your rearing fear._

Marinette was kissing Adrien back, and she didn’t know why. Her brain couldn’t make sense of anything that had happened since she had been clumsy enough to pull a bunch of books down onto her head and Adrien had taken her by the arm. It was a blur from that point onwards, it was just fragments that she caught and held onto. The hot trails left in the wake of Adrien’s fingers on her skin, the way he cupped her hips, wrapped his arms around her. His mouth was soft, the wood of the shelf behind her was solid and cool to the touch. She wanted to put her hands in his hair and find out if it was as soft as it looked, but instead her hands were splayed across his chest and frozen there, the beat of his heart trapped beneath them. Her own heart was so loud she swore the whole library was filled with the noise, not just her head and ribs, they were going to get caught if her heart didn’t slow down!

A chill ran over her.

Getting caught shouldn’t have been her concern at all. Her concern should have been that the boy she was kissing wasn’t Chat Noir. The thought exploded across her mind’s eye and in a flurry of panic she pulled away from Adrien, hitting her head hard on the shelf behind her but not stopping to think about it. She scooped the book off the floor, anchoring herself to it as she tried to think, tried to calm down. Her mouth was dry, she was talking but she couldn’t remember what on earth she had said. She grabbed her bag and the basket and she left without ever looking back at him. Her head felt like it was on fire and her ears were ringing. She almost forgot to check the books out, having to backtrack to the counter where, with shaky hands, she gave the clerk her library card. She made polite conversation that she didn’t have to think about. Just thank yous and pleases.

And then she was out of the building and she didn’t care who saw her; she ran, cutting through the park and she only stopped when she was a block away from home where she took the time to compose herself, breathing in deeply and trying to calm down her blush that still hadn’t abated. She ran a hand through her hair and righted her shirt, then walked the rest of the way home. Her mom caught her before she could sneak up the stairs, pulling her into a warm hug and taking the basket off her, handing the books in it back to her daughter. 

“Did you get a lot of work done, sweetheart?”

“U-um, yeah, but I still have heaps more to do!” Marinette replied, side stepping towards the stairs.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“No-- No thanks, mom! I’m okay, I’ll be down for dinner, but I wanna get as much done as I can for now!” She was already climbing the steps before her mother could reply, and she felt a little guilty for not greeting her properly, and for lying. But she could make up for that-- she had bigger problems now.

Mostly, she wanted to cry. She dropped her books and bags on the floor and dropped her head onto the chaise, wrapping her arms around herself. And she did cry, contained little sobs that made her throat hurt and the fabric of the chaise damp with tears. She was crying for herself, for her confusion and her betrayal and the fact that she didn’t know what to do anymore. She just didn’t. She would have to see Adrien again-- on  _ Monday _ \-- and she would have to see Chat Noir soon as well, whether it be a midnight visit or an akuma attack. Either way, she would have to look them both in the eye and try to explain herself and there was no scenario in her head she could make up that didn’t end in hurt. She was going to lose Chat Noir and any chance of a friendship with Adrien was going to burn to the ground. Her partnership would be destroyed, all of the trust would melt away. This is what she cried about until her head ached and there were no tears left. She turned her head to rest her cheek against the damp fabric, her bottom lip trembling as her kwami lighted beside her, concern filling her little face.   
“Oh, Tikki, I’ve ruined everything…” She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. “It’s all my fault…” She felt her kwami move close to her, between her shoulder and chin, her small hands resting on her cheek, warm and like a feather’s touch and Marinette raised a hand to gently touch her with her fingertips.   
“It’ll be okay, Marinette. It might take time, but everything will be okay.”

Nothing felt like it would ever be okay again. She told her parents that she couldn’t join them for dinner because she was still working on her assignment, but it was really because there was no way for her to fix her red and puffy eyes in time. She had no appetite, anyway. She had barely moved from the chaise, too scared to move to her bed in case Chat Noir came tapping on her skylight and she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t there. But at least she tears had stopped coming. Not even the occasional tear rolled down her cheek anymore, all the reserves were dried up.

At half past seven, Alya called her. For moment after digging her phone out of her bag, she stared at it in bewilderment. And then she answered, trying to make it sound like her throat wasn’t raw.

“Hi, Alya. What’s up?”

“Hey! How was your study date? Did you have fun?” Her best friend’s energy levels were way to high for her to handle right now, but Marinette didn’t want to add another person to the list of people she had hurt. She moved her phone away from her ear long enough to take a deep, composing breath and let it out again.   
“We just studied, so it wasn’t really fun, but I got lots of work done. I basically just have to work on my presentation now. What about you?”

“Oh, well, you’re  _ way _ ahead of me. We have a week, you don’t have to do it all this weekend. but come on, tell me what it was like. Was Adrien flirting with you like crazy again?”

“A-again? No… No, Alya I told you, I don’t… like him like that. We’re just friends.” Or maybe not even that anymore. She closed her eyes and tried to talk herself down.

“Okay, okay. You can just be in denial about it, that’s fine. Anyways, that’s not why I called.”   
“It wasn’t?”   
“No! I want to hang out with you. I was thinking we could go shopping tomorrow, or see a movie or something. Especially if you’ve spent all day studying, you need a break!” Marinette licked her lips, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling and try to fight her way through to the decision. Right now, she didn’t want to see  _ anyone _ , but come tomorrow she would be begging for company. For something to take her mind off of things. But she doubted she could act normal, and she loved Alya, but she couldn’t really explain this to her without having to explain so much more that she wasn’t ready to share.

But Alya always managed to cheer her up, even if she didn’t know she was sad. She smiled to herself just a touch, nodding. “Yeah, okay Alya. Want to meet up at around eleven?”   
“That sounds great. I’ll see you tomorrow, girl. Take a break from homework!” The line went dead and Marinette looked over to Tikki, smiling wearily.    
“Let’s go to sleep. Everything can wait until tomorrow.”

Marinette slept well because she had exhausted herself. She hadn’t even bothered with pyjamas; she slept in the same pink shirt covered in love hearts as the day before and a pair of underwear. Her overalls were a heap on the floor next to her shoes. Her alarm went off at half past nine and she refused to look up through the skylight as she climbed down from her bed. Her complexion was blotchy from crying and she needed to put a cold cloth over her eyes to get rid of the puffiness. But first, she had to deal with the fact that she was  _ starving _ .

Her mom was happy to serve her up a massive plate of breakfast foods, fussing over her daughter when she saw how ‘tired’ she looked. She had immediately sat Marinette down, smoothing her hair down with both hands before kissing the crown of her head and getting her a glass of orange juice. She was glad to hear that Marinette was getting out of the house for the day, and sat with her, drinking a milky cup of coffee, until her daughter’s plate was cleared.

In the bathroom after her shower, Marinette pressed a cold washcloth over her eyes as planned, tilting her head back as she did. She tried to keep her thoughts shallow, thinking about what she might buy today, what movie they should go and see, what she wanted for lunch. She thought about the hug she’d get from Alya when they met up at their favorite cafe. The taste of the mocca she would order and, mostly importantly, what she was going to wear today. When she took the cloth away, she looked a little better.

When she finished getting ready, she had  _ never _ looked better.

 

“Damn girl, I feel underdressed.” Alya greeted her, pulling her into a warm and tight hug. “You look like a model!”

Marinette laughed, shaking her head as she shyly smoothed out her dress. “I just felt like dressing up a little today. Is it too much?”

“No, no way! You look great, I love this dress. You’ve been dressing up a lot lately, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were trying to impress somebody.” Marinette laughed some more, waving a dismissive hand.

“I just like looking my best for my best friend. Now, do you want to get coffee, or not?”

 

*********

 

Chat Noir hadn't meant to follow Marinette, but he happened to see her leaving her house, and then he found himself stalking across rooftops. He watched her greet Alya, and found himself waiting on the roof for them. He stretched out in the sun, one ear trained to her voice. Chat was well aware that he was being pathetic, scraping together all the time he could have with Marinette even at a distance. There wouldn't be much more of this, he had convinced himself of that. The moment Marinette knew the truth about him, things would fall apart and everything between then that was sweet and good would turn brittle and bitter. Including himself. He could already taste the venom soaking into his tongue and could only imagine it staining his words. Chat Noir didn't want to hurt Marinette, but his control has already proven to be flimsy.

He tracked her the entire day, watching her and Alya duck in and out of stores, watched her laugh and, when she was alone every now and again, watching her smile drop away. Those moments made him want to go to her, he could have even released his transformation and go to as Adrien, but it wasn't the right time and he didn't know what to say.

Marinette had dinner with Alya’s family and was home just as the sun was sinking into the bowels of the world. She was smiling and kissed her mother and father on the way up to her room, pulling off her heels and dropping her purse and shopping bags onto her chaise. She took the clip out of her hair and let it fall naturally. She kissed Tikki on the head before she climbed out through her skylight, turning on the fairylights so that she could water her flowers.

Chat Noir was there. He stood quietly with one hand resting on the railing, his bright eyes trained on her in a way that rooted her to the spot. The skylight slammed shut behind her and she flinched at the violent sound.

All he could do was stare at her, memorizing how she looked in her yellow sundress, soft and full in the skirt, all of the fabric gathered into tiny, tight cartridge pleats across the bodice. The straps were two thin streaks against her sun kissed skin. Her toes were pink from the cool tiles under them and he could see the faint marks her strappy sandals had left behind after a full day's wear. Over the course of the day her lipstick had been worn away but it left a rouge to her lips still and he had never seen anything more  _ perfect _ than Marinette in this moment that wouldn't last. 

“Chat Noir.” She sounded surprised, and didn't move an inch to greet him so he came to her, smiling, brushing some stray hairs away from her face. “... you haven't been here since Wednesday, I thought…”

“I just wanted you to miss me.” Chat said, touching her shoulder and remembering exactly what her skin had felt like against his. “Did it work?” 

Her head bowed, forehead to Chat’s chest. “... It worked. I missed you so much. Don't go away again.” He sighed softly, resting his cheek against the top of her head and slowly running his hands up and down her arms. And then he picked her up and she yelped, throwing her arms around his neck as she was cradled in his arms. “Chat Noir!”

“Shh, princess. I've always wanted to carry you through Paris.”

“I've seen Paris, Chat. I can carry myself!” He laughed, squeezing her to him and pressing a kiss to her forehead-- he wasn't going to listen. He was just going to leap.

Marinette couldn’t deny that there was something more breathtaking about being carried across the rooftops, about the feeling of the ground falling away beneath her when Chat leapt over alleyways. The first time, she had closed her eyes. But only the first time. There was something about having her being left to depend on another person that made her feel alive.

She tipped her head back and felt the wind in her hair, watching the stars arch over her with a grin. Chat Noir’s silhouette was strong, his smile all sharp angles. When he looked down on her now and again, Marinette felt like the entire world had fallen away. It was just them.

_ If only. _

It eventually had to come to an end, and Marinette knew exactly where they were the moment her bare feet touched the grass. If she was alone, the park might had been scary, the streetlights throwing the shadows of the trees in menacing ways, the breeze rattling the chains of the swings. But with Chat Noir, all of these were just normal things happening around them. This park had lost it's hold on her. She didn't avoid it and walking through it didn't drag back memories she wanted to release. She wrapped her arms around herself as she stepped away from his warmth, now under dressed without the sun out to heat her skin. Marinette saw so many things in this park and Saturday had added to it. Under the tree she saw herself and Adrien, eating together, making little conversations.

This wasn't one of the memories she didn't want to remember. Her heart constricted for a moment between breaths, and then Chat Noir took her by the shoulders and turned her around, hugging her close to him in a way that felt different to every other hug. He was clinging to her. His arms laid over as much as her back as they could and he pressed their foreheads together, his eyes closed. She couldn't get her arms out from between them to return the embrace.

“Chat Noir…?”

“... Just, let me have this. Just a little longer.” His voice was a whisper and it made her worry, Marinette tried harder to bring her hands up to his face, cupping his cheeks, forcing him to look at her.

“Chat Noir, what's wrong? Has something happened…?”  _ Do you know what I've done? _

His silence rang in her ears and she felt ice in her veins when he stepped away, three paces, four. Too far. “I… I'm going to tell you who I am. But can you cover your eyes? Look when I tell you to?”

“You're really going to tell me?” Marinette asked incredulously, taking half a step towards him only to have Chat throw his hands up to stop her. “Okay- okay, I'll cover my eyes.” She took a long look at Chat Noir, memorizing this moment, the last she would ever see him as just this. With no other name attached to him. Just Chat Noir, before she lifted her hands over her eyes and the world went black.

It seemed like a decade before the flash of light that came from a released transformation burst through the cracks of her fingers, the black turning to green and leaving stars in her eyes after. Another decade passed before she had permission to look.

She didn't, not right away. Her heart was in her throat, her mouth was dry, her insides felt hollowed out. All over, her body felt weak and flimsy.  Whoever Chat Noir was, was right in front of her. For five weeks she had begged and pleaded to know and now it was right there. And she was terrified.

As terrified as Chat Noir was, the creeping fear of rejection at it's height.

_ Just do it _ .

Like a band-aid, sharp and fast Marinette pulled her hands away, blinking to adjust to the low light and then, he was there. Three steps away from her stood Adrien Agreste. 

Wait.

“... Adrien…? Adrien.” She stared. She couldn't wrap her head around it. And then suddenly she  _ did, _ and everything made sense-- and she. Was. Furious. Her face dropped to a deadpan as her brain went into turmoil.

For a week, she had felt like her heart was about to split in two. She had collapsed under the weight of confusion and guilt more than once. She had cried because her heart was devoted to one and attracted to another.

Except there  _ was _ no other. Her heart had been tearing itself apart  _ over the same person. _ She brought her hands up into her hair and had to pace, she couldn't stand still. Marinette stared at her feet as she walked, dragging her hands down to her mouth. Then she turned on Adrien, eyes narrowed.

“ _ Adrien. Agreste. _ ” His pretty green eyes widened in what she hoped was fear. He owed her that much! He shrunk into himself but wasn't stupid enough to try and step back. He braced for impact instead. “You… you idiot, Ch-- Adrien! What have you been trying to do all week! Do you have  _ any _ idea what you put me through!” He flinched every time her time her voice reached it's peak and she was glad, and then her little hands balled up and slammed against his chest in a flurry.

“Ow-- ow! You're still really strong like this!” He yelped, trying to catch her hands and when he did, she collapsed right into him. Adrien wrapped his arms around her, completely bewildered. Was this a good reaction, or a bad one? She was terrifying when she was angry, but she never stopped being adorable, either. “I-- I’m sorry?”

“You're damn right you are!” She fumed,  pulling back enough to face him. “Why would you do that to me? What a stupid game to play! Every time you spoke to me I was so confused, and then you. Kissed. Me! As Adrien! I love Chat Noir and then you come out of nowhere after-- after  _ two years  _ of never seeing me! And then you're the same person, I'm  _ furious with you! _ ”

Adrien said nothing. He stared down at her, his eyes wide again and his teeth sunk into his lip to stop himself from grinning because he was certain that would sign his death warrant. “You love me?”

Marinette froze. All of her anger drained out of her in an instant. She stared right back at him, her mouth dropping open. “I-I-- that--” 

He grinned. She went bright red and stared down at her feet. Adrien squeezed her close again, swaying her gently. He buried his nose into her soft, sweet smelling hair and he couldn't stop smiling. “I love you, too, my lady. Princess. In every form you come in, I love you. And I'll wait as long as it takes for you to love every part of me. It was so easy for me, I hope it'll be easy for you, as well.”

Marinette was silent for a long time, her hands balling into Adrien’s shirt like it was an anchor. This was Adrien. This was Chat Noir. They were the same. The heartbeat she could hear was the same heartbeat she had listened to a million times through leather and the same heart she had dreamed of hearing for nearly two years. It was the heart that she loved and the  _ boy  _ she loved.

This was a new revelation-- all of this was, but it was all eclipsed by the rearing knowledge that she was in love with Chat Noir and that there was no way this feeling wasn't going to attach itself to Adrien as well. In time.

Adrien sighed, kissing her hair again. “... I really have been an idiot, haven't I? I just… I didn’t want to reveal myself and have you… Not even  _ like _ me. It had sounded like you’d shaken off your crush on me because of Chat Noir, which-- well.” He laughed, short and breathy and Marinette understood. She looked up at him and he stroked her cheek, smiling sheepishly. “I just didn’t want to disappoint you. I’m sorry for upsetting you so much… I didn’t think. I just wanted you.”

“... That’s something I can relate to.” Marinette said quietly, catching Adrien’s hand so that she could lean into his touch. “You had better make it up to me, Adrien Agreste.”

“I was thinking a date would be a good place to start. A date where we both know it’s a date.” Marinette wholeheartedly agreed. And confirmed a suspicion. 

“I was thinking of something more immediate.”

Adrien grinned down at her, all sharp corners and angles, and Marinette smiled back at him, raising on the tips of her toes to meet him halfway in a kiss that felt like the most honest kiss they had ever shared with one another. The passion was there, the tenderness, the nervousness and the steady fear of the unknown-- but it was at the same time so calm and natural. Like they were made for each other, and every moment in their little lives had led up to this kiss that felt like their first kiss, and every other kiss that would come after this one. Their second kiss came immediately after their first, and then Adrien pulled away so that he could shrug off his jacket and throw it over Marinette’s bare shoulders, which he rubbed gently, bringing the warmth back into her. She held it closed, her eyes lowering as he touched his lips to her forehead once more.   
“I see you now, Marinette. And I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays!!!  
> I can't believe I finished this on the same day that I prepared an entire Christmas dinner, but I did! And in time for it to be posted on Christmas for my lovely American/European readers.  
> So, here we are. This is the end of the line. The confusion is cleared up, Adrien's insecurity is washed away. These kids are in love, or at least they will be in time.  
> I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has supported me, and to the people that asked for this sequel! It was so much fun to write, I covered so much more ground than I thought. _I Walk The Line_ was meant to be a light little fic that would help me ease into writing for this fandom. Ha! But I wouldn't have it any other way.  
>  I hope you enjoy this last installment!  
> I love you guys! :*

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on tumblr as well; historicalmarinette.tumblr.com  
> Love you guys! :*


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